Seal spray gun siphon cup



T. L. KALTENBACH 3,432,104

SEAL SPRAY GUN SIPHON CUP Filed March 23, 196'? March 11, 1969 United States Patent 3,432,104 SEAL SPRAY GUN SIPHON CUP Theodore L. Kaltenbach, Mequon, Wis.

(1475 Wadsworth Drive, Florissant, Mo. 63031) Filed Mar. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 642,267 US. Cl. 239328 10 Claims Int. Cl. Bh 11/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE All present siphon cups in use require a vent opening located in the cover to allow atmospheric pressure to come in direct contact with the liquid so that the spray gun can siphon liquid from the cup container. This type;

of vent feature can be a cause of paint leakage, which can damage a painted surface. If also allows ambient air to enter the cup, and can cause the paint to lose solvent vapors, and can cause drying of the paint. If the vent becomes plugged, the liquid or paint cannot be siphoned from the cup. By using a spray gun with an old-style vented cup, the operator is limited to how full he fills the cup, and also, what angle he holds and moves the gun.

It is a primary object of this invention, to provide a siphon cup or gravity cup which will eliminate the problems mentioned in the previous paragraph, and also have other advantages which will be explained or apparent in the continuing description.

Another prime object of this invention, is to provide a siphon or gravity cup that does not have a vent in the cover assembly.

A further object is the provision of a siphon cup attached to a spray gun and having a disposable portion wherein said disposable portion may be inserted in the dry-vented cup container in such a manner as to render the entire device, clean, leakproof, freely maneuverable, rugged, strong, storable and capable of quick assembly and disassembly.

Another object is to provide a siphon cup that completely seals the paint or liquid from direct contact with dust laden ambient air. This feature allows paint to be stored in the cup without danger of the paint drying, or the viscosity changing due to loss of solvent vapors.

An important object of this invention is to provide a siphon cup, in which paint or liquid can be agitated by shaking the entire device without paint leakage or spilling. This feature is important when spraying acrylic finishes, metallic finishes and primer surfacers.

Yet another object is to provide a cup, which, when attached to a spray gun, allows the operator to freely move the entire device in any position without danger of leakage.

A main object of this invention is to provide a siphon cup, with a disposable liner, that can be quickly cleaned for rapid color changes.

It should be noted that if a quick detachable fluid connection is incorporated with the siphon cup, the cup would be completely sealed without the aid of a spray gun.

FIGURE 1 is a side, cutaway, sectional view of a clamp type siphon cup, incorporating the present invention secured to a spray gun and ready for use.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a partially opened liner or bag utilized as a collapsible container in this invention.

FIGURE 3 is a side, cutaway, sectional view of a screwtype siphon cup incorporating the present invention. Note that this structure does not require a siphon tube, rendering it both a siphon and gravity cup.

FIGURE 4 is a side, cutaway, sectional view of a screwtype siphon cup incorporating the present invention.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a spray gun 10, complete with air and fluid nozzle assembly 11, and trigger 12, which when actuated allows compressed air to enter spray gun at air connection 13. The compressed air flows through the spray gun 10, and is caused to flow through the nozzle assembly 11, which induces flow of liquid from the cup assembly. The spray gun 10 is secured to the cup assembly by a swivel nut 14. It should be noted that a quick detachable connection could be used in place of the swivel nut 14.

The cup assembly consists of swivel nut 14, attached to the fluid conduit assembly 21, which extends from the spray gun through the nonvented cover 17 to the bottom of the cup. The cover 17 and the fluid conduit assembly 21 are secured and sealed by a gasket and lock nut (not shown).

The dry-vented cup structure 19 forms a container and support for the disposable liner 20. The cup structure 19 has a circular opening at the top plus one or more vent openings 22 to allow atmospheric pressure to enter and contact the outer surface of liner 20. At the upper open end of the liner 20, are oppositely directed openings 24. Whenthe liner 20 is placed within cup 19, the open top of the liner 20 is turned back over the rim of the cup 19 and the openings 24 are slipped over the hollow pins 23, which are firmly attached to cup 19 and also act as vents.

The U-shaped yoke pulls the cup 19 and the liner into engagement with a sealing gasket 18 mounted on the underside of cover 17. The center port of the yoke is smooth, which allows it to move freely upwardly or downwardly.

By moving the yoke 15 upwardly of the cover 17, the hooked ends of the yoke 15 pull the hollow pins 23 to ward the cover 17, thus the entire cup structure is assembled and the liquid 26 is sealed from ambient air. The yoke 15 is locked in this upwardly position by lever 16 which has a threaded center port. As the threaded lever 16 is rotated upon the threaded portion of fluid conduit assembly 21, the yoke 15 can be raised or lowered depending on the direction lever 16 is rotated.

Atmospheric pressure enters cup 19 through vent opening 22 or hollow pins 23 and allows the spray gun 10 to siphon liquid from the sealed liner 20.

Referring to FIGURE 2, there is shown, the liner 20 with the bottom end sealed at to form a container. The upper end of the liner is open. Also shown are oppositely directed openings 24. The liner 20 is preferably constructed of a flexible plastic film material so as to render the liner liquid-tight, flexible, strong and resistant to paint finishes and solvents. The sides of the liner are pleated to allow the liner to expand when filled with liquid.

Referring to FIGURE 3, there is shown a screw-type cup structure consisting of a swivel nut 14 and a tailpiece 27, which is threadedly secured to a nonvented cover 28. The fluid conduit extends from the spray gun to the underside of cover 28. The cover 28 has internal screw threads 29 to accommodate the cup structure 30'. The dry-vented cup structure 30 forms a container and support for the disposable liner 20. The lip of cup 30 is circular in cross section and is provided with a screw thread 31 on its outside. The cup 30 has a circular opening at the top, plus one or more vent openings 22. The liner 20 is placed within cup 30 and the open top of the liner is turned back over the top rim of oup 30. The turned-back edge of the liner 20 can be further secured to the cup 30 by means of pressure sensitive adhesive preapplied to the upper outer edge of liner 20. It also can be held in place by using masking tape. The adhesive and the masking tape are not shown in the drawing, as they are not normally needed.

Thread 29 in cover 28 coacts with cup thread 31 to engage cup 30 and liner 2.0 with gasket 18, and to seal and render the entire cup structure ready for use.

The liquid 26, when siphoned from the liner 20, must flow through filter screen 32 before entering the fluid conduit and the spray gun.

The function of the structure shown in FIGURE 3 is the same as that shown in FIGURE 1.

Referring to FIGURE 4, there is shown a screw-type cup structure, which is basically the same as the structure in FIGURE 3, with the exception that a fluid tube 33 extends to the bottom of the liner 20.

The function of the structure shown in FIGURE 4 is the same as that shown in FIGURES 1 and 3.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is obvious that many other modifications could be made by one skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended to protect by Letters Patent all forms of the invention falling within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a spray gun siphon cup, the combination of:

a removable clamp type cover attachment, said attachment to be free of any vent openings, a fluid discharge conduit having a notched inner end and an outer end attached to a spray gun for subjecting the discharge conduit to a partial vacuum for drawing material through the discharge conduit, said cover attachment having a sealing gasket located on the underside of said cover, said attachment to have a lever actuated yoke with hooked ends;

a cup shell having one or more vent openings in uninterrupted com-mtunication with the inside of the shell, plus an opening at its top, said cup shell having opposed pins coacting with hooked ends of said lever actuated yoke; and

a sack-like inner liner, having opposed pleated sides, partially disposed within said cup shell and having its top end extending overly, outwardly and downwardly around said shell rim, said liner having opposed openings at its top end to engage with the pins on said cup shell, said liner top end to be sealed between cover sealing gasket and cup shell rim when said yoke hooked ends coact with pins on said cup shell.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said fluid conduit further includes at its outer end a fluid quick detachable connection between spray gun and said fluid conduit.

3. In a spray gun siphon cup, the combination of:

a removable screw-type cover attachment, said attachment to be free of any vent openings, a fluid discharge conduit having an inner end located adjacent the underside surface of said cover and an outer end attached to a spray gun for subjecting the discharge conduit to a partial vacuum for drawing material through the discharge conduit, said cover attachment having a sealing gasket located on the underside of said cover, said cover having interior threads and said cover having a filter screen located at inner end of fluid conduit;

a cup shell having one or more vent openings in uninterrupted communication with the inside of the shell, plus an opening at its top and having interior threads near said top releasably mated with the threads on said cover; and

a sack-like inner liner, having opposed pleated sides, partially disposed within said cup shell and having its top end extending overly, outwardly and downwardly around said shell top and having a portion of said liner disposed between the threads of said cup shell and said cover when said threads are mated, said mating of said threads seals liner between cup shell rim and sealing gasket in said cover.

4. In a spray gun siphon cup, the combination of:

a removable screw-type cover attachment, said attachment to be free of any vent openings, a fluid discharge conduit having an inner end located adjacent the underside surface of said cover and an outer end attached to a spray gun for subjecting the discharge conduit to a partial vacuum for drawing material through the discharge conduit, said cover attachment having a sealing gasket located on the underside of said cover, said cover having interior threads and said cover having a filter screen located at inner end of fluid conduit;

a cup shell having one or more vent openings in uninterrupted communication with the inside of the shell, plus an opening at its top, and having exterior threads near said top, releasably mated with the threads on said cover; and

a sack-like inner liner, having opposed pleated sides, said liner having pressure sensitive adhesive on its exterior open end edge area to secure liner to upper exterior end of said cup shell, said liner partially disposed within said cup shell and having its top end extending overly, outwardly and downwardly around said shell top and having a portion of said liner disposed between the threads of said oup shell and said cover when said threads are mated, said mating of said threads seals liner between cup shell rim and sealing gasket in said cover.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said fluid conduit further includes at its outer end a fluid quick detachable connection between spray gun and said fluid conduit.

6. In a spray gun siphon cup, the combination of:

a removable screw-type cover attachment, said attachment to be free of any vent openings, a fluid discharge conduit having a notched inner end and an outer end attached to a spray gun for subjecting the discharge conduit to a partial vacuum for drawing material through the discharge conduit, said cover attachment having a sealing gasket located on the underside of said cover and said cover having interior threads;

a cup shell having one or more vent openings in uninterrupted communication with the inside of the shell, plus an opening at its top and having exterior threads near said top releasably mated with the threads on said cover; and

a sack-like inner liner, having opposed pleated sides, partially disposed within said cup shell and having its top end extending overly, outwardly and downwardly around said shell top and having a portion of said liner disposed between the threads of said cup shell and said cover when said threads are mated, said mating of said threads seals liner between cup shell rim and sealing gasket in said cover.

7. In a spray gun siphon cup, the combination of:

a removable screw-type cover attachment, said attachment to be free of any vent openings, a fluid discharge conduit having a notched inner end and an outer end attached to a spray gun for subjecting the discharge conduit to a partial vacuum for drawing material through the discharge conduit, said cover attachment having a sealing gasket located on the underside of said cover, and said cover having interior threads;

a cup shell having One or more vent openings in uninterrupted communication with the inside of the shell, plus an opening at its top and having exterior threads near said top releasably mated with the threads on said cover; and

a sack-like inner liner having opposed pleated sides, said liner having pressure sensitive adhesive on its exterior open end edge area to secure liner to upper exterior end of said cup shell, said liner partially disposed within said cup shell and having its top end extending overly, outwardly and downwardly around said shell top and having a portion of said liner disposed between threads of said cup shell and said cover when said threads are mated, said mating of said threads seals liner between cup shell rim and sealing gasket in said cover.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said fluid conduit further includes at its outer end a fluid quick detachable connection between spray gun and said fluid conduit.

9. In a paint spray gun siphon cup assembly comprising:

a container unit including a cup-like shell member having at least one vent opening providing uninterrupted communication with the inside of the shell and the exterior of the shell and having a removable top cover member providing a continuous sealing surface, said container unit including member means to releasably secure the cover member to the shell,

a fluid discharge conduit means secured to the cover and extending inwardly into the cup shell and having input means for subjecting the discharge conduit to a partial vacuum thereby drawing liquid upwardly from the cup through the discharge conduit,

a replaceable sack-like inner liner releasably secured within the container unit and extending about the open end of the cup shell to completely enclose the interior of the cup shell and to support the paint within the cup shell for discharge through said discharge conduit, said liner in combination with said cover essentially completely sealing the paint from the exterior atmosphere.

10. The spray gun siphon cup apparatus of claim 9 wherein said discharge conduit means extends downwardly essentially to the lower inner-most end of the sack-like inner liner and includes a lower notched end.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,177,082 10/1939 Baumgardner 239-328 X 3,198,438 8/1965 Hultgren 239-328 X 3,201,047 8/1965 Danberg 239-428 X 3,255,972 6/1966 Hultgren et al. 239-328 X ALLEN N. KNOWLES, Primary Examiner. 

